Skylight



y 1 R. H. ANDERSON 2,982,054

SKYLIGHT Filed Oct. 17, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Robert H. Anderson BY R. H. ANDERSON SKYLIGHT May 2, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Oct. 17, 1955 INVENTOR. Robert H. Anderson May 2, 1961 R. H.ANDERSON SKYLIGHT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 17, 1955 INVENTOR. g- 9Robert H. Anderson 593g E/fiEC/ESZ ATTORNEYS rate SKYLIGHT Robert H.Anderson, 240 th Ave. W., Seattle, Wash.

Filed Oct. 17, 1955, Ser. No. 540,825

2 Claims. (Cl. 50-53) tun'ng facilities is necessitated for suchmanufacture.

. An additional object of this invention is to provide, if thecircumstances so dictate, a skylight which can be readily manufacturedat the site of use.

Another and important object is the provision of a skylight which iseasily and quickly installed thereby resulting in a minimum of labor andtime for such installation.

A still further object is to provide a skylight which is both strong andshock-resistant and yet is light in weight.

An additional object is the provision 'of a skylight which is resistantto action of the elements and thereby having a long life.

A further and important object is to provide an inexpensive-skylightwhich is attractive in appearance.

With yet additional objects and advantages in view which, with theforegoing, will appear and be understood in the course of the followingdescription and claims, the invention consists in the novel constructionand in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view looking down on a skylight constructed inaccordance with the preferred teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view of anotherpreferred embodiment of the skylight.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view drawn on line 3-3 of Fig. 2illustrating the details of construction, and is on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary lateral cross-sectional view of a bracing stripon the skylight, and is on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary lateral cross-sectional view drawn on line 5-5ofFig. 1, and illustrates the bond at the edges of two faces.

Fig. 6, drawn on a reduced scale, is a longitudinal verticalcross-sectional view of another preferred skylight illustrated inworking position on a building.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary lateral cross-sectional View of one method forattaching a skylight to a building, and is drawn on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 8 is atop plan view of another skylight constructed in accordancewith the teachings of this invention.

Fig. 9, drawn to a reduced scale, is a perspective view looking down ona skylight having a lap method of construotion; and, Figure 10 is afragmentary side elevational view of the skylight of Figure 9. 7

Referring to the drawings it is ,seen that the invention 2,982,054Patented May 2, 1961 is a skylight composed of a number of individualmembers whose edges are bonded into a unitary structure. Theseindividual members are a synthetic resin panel whichrmay or may not bereinforced by a skeleton such as a fiberglass mat or cloth. This panelpreparatory to use is cut, for example, by a saw, to a predeterminedsize and configuration. Illustrative of the size and shape of thesemembers are the main component parts of a pyramidal skylight 10 havingequal sides 11 in the configuration of an isosceles triangle. r12denotes a skylight which is longer than it is wide and comprises a side13 having erence numeral 17 is for a skylight whose contiguous edges arecut on a curve so that the skylight presents a Gothic appearance.Another skylight is referred to by 27 and which skylight is composed ofa number of triangular panels 28 and a number of trapezoidal panels 30.

Although the method for making a fiberglass panel is not a part of thisinvention, one suitable process will be briefly outlined. A sheet ofcellophane having a width of approximately fifty-four inches and anindefinite length is spread smoothly on a'flat surface and a glass fibermat having a width of about four feet and of suitable length is centeredon the cellophane sheet. This mat may be a one and one-half, two, orthree ounce weight or may be a custom-made mat of an appropriate weight.A resin having a viscosity of 25 poises at 25 C., is added to the mat inthe ratio of approximately, by weight, parts of resin to 25 parts ofmat. Then, a second cellophane sheet similar to the first sheet ispositioned over both the mat containing the resin and the firstcellophane sheet thereby forming a sheet-mat-sheet sandwich. The airbubbles entrapped in the mat and the resin are worked to the edge andout of the mat by means of a rubber squeegee. The sandwich is then curedto a hard, flexible panel by placing the same between two flat platensand heating to a temperature of approximately F. for about two andone-half hours. In order to shorten the curing time I catalyze the resinwith a suitable catalyst such as benzoil peroxide or cumenehydroperoxide. After curing, the fiberglass panels are then cut to asuitable size and shape for use in the skylight.

In making the skylight, see skylight 10 for example, from the pre-cutpanels, the panels are positioned in a jig with the side edge of onetriangle juxtapositioned next to the side edge of an adjacent triangle.This positioning of the panels with the side edges of the adjacentpanels next to each other is carried out for the entire skylight. Thenext step is to place a comparatively wide reinforcing strip 15, aboutthree inches in width, over the adjacent edges and also in anoverlapping relation with the same sides of the panels. Similarly,another reinforcing strip is placed on the opposite sides of thepanels-in relation to the first reinforcing strip. These reinforcingstrips are preferably of fiberglass cloth as the cloth is much strongerthan the mat and retains its form to a better degree than the mat. As iswell known, fiberglass cloth is very pliable and can be packaged intorolls for ease in handling. To the cloth is added resin having both acatalyst such as benzoil peroxide or cumene hydroperoxide and anothercatalyst like cobalt naphthenate, and then the resin is cured. Thecuring of the resin may be carried Y cess is sand-blasting. Theroughening of the surface of the panels permits the liquid resin addedto the reinforcing strip to bond with the fiberglass panel and, in

effect, the fiberglass cloth is continuously bonded to the panel makinga non-porous joint. From a structural viewpoint the joint of theskylight isstronger than the main part of the panel, and is much morediflicult to flex than the fiberglass panel. In this regard the panel,even though hard and shock-resistant, is flexible and the central partof each individual member tends to sag spaced. These bracing stripscomprises fiberglass rovings, strands of fiberglass threads twistedtogether, and which are also impregnated with the resin having thecatalyst cobalt naphthenate and another catalyst such as benzoilperoxide or cumene hydroperoxide. As in the case of the application ofthe reinforcing strips to the panels, the surface of the panels is firstroughened before applying the rovings and the resin thereto. Again, therovings are continuously bonded to the panel, see Fig. 4. Fig. 3 depictsthe slight sagging of the fiberglass panel between the bracings 16 onthe individual panel 14.

Another preferred skylight, Gothic in appearance, is denoted byreference numeral 17, and comprises preformed sections 18 which are socut that the profile of the skylight is a graceful curve. Naturally,these individual members are joined into a unitary structure byfiberglass cloth and resin in the manner previously described for themanufacture of skylights and 12.

The skylight 17, whose sides are of equal length, mounted byconstructing a square frame 20 on a building. This frame comprises studs21 which abut the rafters 22 and braces 26 between the studs and therafters for bolding the former upright. The upper part 23 of the studsslopes downwardly and outwardly at such an angle as to accommodate theouter sides of the skylight. Between the outer sides of the skylight andthe upper part 23 of the studs I interpose a porous bulky material 24 toallow moisture, which will condense and collect on the under part of theskylight, to run off and to the outside of, the building. This porousmaterial may be a wire screen such as a screen having /2" mesh openingsand, which when folded back upon itself two or three times, has a highbulk factor. In addition to allowing condensed moisture to escape thematerial 24 silences or deadens the noise of rain drops falling on thepanel. To attach the skylight to the frame, I employ an aluminum twistnail 25 and a neoprene gasket 19 with the latter interposed between thehead of the nail and the panel. With this arrangement it is impossibleto pull the nail out of the stud 21 as the head breaks off before thenail can be pulled. This is especially so if the stud 21 is of Douglasfir.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a skylight composed of triangular panelsides 32 bonded together by braces 33. These braces are of stiffpreformed angles having two legs, approximately three inches wide, andwhose ends have been cut at about 45 to the longitudinal axis so as tomake pointed ends. These ends form attractive miter joints at the apexof the skylight and are flush with the ends of the adjacent panels. Thebraces are normally of the same composition as the panels, i.e., afiberglass panel comprising a fiberglass base and a cured syntheticresin. These braces are applied to both the upper and the under surfacesof the panels, and overlap the adjacent edges of the panels by an inchor one and onehalf inches. The braces and the panels are bondedtogetherby, amodified epoxy resin, an extender and a catalyst. Tomore rapidly.bond .the braces to thepanels I placeihesememberszin;arjig whichhasaheating element running from the corner edges to the apex. Theheat fromthis element quickly cures the epoxy resin to form a unitary skylight.The construction of this skylight possesses the desirable feature ofhandling rigid, preformed members, e.g., the panels and the braces, withonly a minimum of liquid epoxy resin, and another desireable featurebeing that the surface of the panel need not be roughened or scored inorder for the epoxy resin to form a bond between the braces and thepanels.

The skylight 27 having the lapped panels is similar in its constructionfeatures to the skylight 31 as the panels 28, 30 and the angle braces 34and 35 are of preformed cured synthetic resins. Generally speaking,these members comprise a resin impregnated fiberglass mat. In theconstructing of this skylight the triangular panels 28 are united attheir adjacent side edges by angular braces 34 into a pyramidal shapedskylight. The ends of these braces are so cut that they form attractivemiter joints at the apex and are flush with the bottom edges of thepanels. However, in the instance of the trapezoidal panels 30 bracingstrips 35 do not run from the lower edge to the upper edge of the panelsbut instead extend from the lower edge to within about two inches of theupper edge. These strips 35 are so cut that the lower end comes to apoint and the upper end, in conjunction with the panels, defines a cupfor receiving the lower ends of the next higher panels. In this mannerthe under side of the lower edge 36 of the higher panel fits flushagainst the upper side 37 of the upper edge of the next lower panel soas to not leave an opening for water and air to enter. Again, the panelsand the braces are formed into a unitary structure with the modifiedepoxy resin described in relation with skylight 31. As is readilyappreciated, this manner of constructing with lapped panels makes itpossible to fabricate skylights of any reasonable size.

It is to be understood that numerous resins can effectively be employedbecause the invention does not reside in the particular resin employedbut in the skylight itself and the process for making said skylight.However, some of the resins which may just as effectively be used areboth the thermoplastic and the thermosetting classes of resins, typicalof which are allyl-alkyd resins, polyester resins, styrene reactedresins, modified phenolic resins, resin-forming compounds having in themolecule a single polymerizable unsaturated carbon-to-carbon linkage,examples of compounds of this kind are esters of saturated monohydricalcohols with aliphatic-unsaturated monobasic acids such as the methyl,ethyl, etc. esters of acrylic, methacrylic, chloroacrylic, etc. acids;esters of aliphaticunsaturated monohydric alcohols with saturatedmonobasic acids such as the vinyl, allyl, methallyl chloroallyl, etc.esters of acetic, chloroacetic, glycolic, propionic, lactic, benzoic,chlorobenzoic, etc. acids; ethers of the abovementioned and otherunsaturated monohydric alcohols with the above-mentioned and othersaturated monohydric alcohols; acetals of aliphatic-unsaturatedmonohydric alcohols; unsaturated hydrocarbons and substitutedhydrocarbons such as styrene, alphamethylstyrene, dischlorostyrene, etc.Other suitable resins include those produced by the polymerization oforganic compounds containing in the molecule two or more polymerizableunsaturated carbon-to-carbon linkages not conjugated with respect tocarbon and examples of these are: polyesters of aliphatic unsaturatedpolybasic acids with saturated monohydric alcohols such as the methyl,ethyl, propyl, etc. polyesters of maleic, fumaric, dichloro maleic,itaconic, citraconic, etc. acids, polyesters of unsaturated polyhydricalcohols with saturated monobasic acids; polyesters of unsaturatedmonohydric alcohols with saturated polybasic acids such as vinyl, allyl,methallyl, etc. esters of oxalic, maleic, succinic, adipic, phthalic,iso-phthalic, terephthalic, acids; polyesters ofsaturated polyhydricalcohols with unsaturated monobasic acids such as acrylic, methacrylic,chloroacrylic, et'c.-,..esters.' of; glycol, diethylene glycol,.-glycerol,

polyglycerols, pentaerythritol, polyvinyl alcohol, polyallyl alcohol,etc.; polyesters of saturated polyhydric alcohols with unsaturatedpolybasic acids; polyesters of unsaturated polybasic alcohols withsaturated polybasic acids. For quicker results these resins should beused in admixture with a polymerization catalyst such as benzoylperoxide, acetyl peroxide, benzoyl acetyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide,dibutyryl peroxide, succinyl peroxide, sodium peroxide, barium peroxide,tertiary alkyl hydroperoxides such as tertiary butyl hydroperoxide(often called simply tertiary butyl peroxide), di (tertiary alkyl)peroxides such asdi (tertiary butyl) peroxide, peracetic acid,perborates, persulfates, etc., and in the ratios based on weight ofabout 0.01% to 5.0% of catalyst to resin. However, in certain instancesit may be desirable to vary the ratio of catalyst to resin to suitindividual circumstances.

Although I have restricted my exposition of the skylight to similarskylights incorporating many of the same features it is to be understoodthat there may be variations from these features and still be within thescope of my invention. For example, in certain instances it may bedesirable to produce a panel of quite heavy and rigid construction so asto both lessen the sagging of the panel and the elimination of thebracing strips 16. Such a panel may be made from a heavy custom-madefiberglass mat, or a mat and cloth combination or a mat-cloth-matsandwich. Such a strong and rigid panel is of value in a long skylight,say of forty feet in length, or even longer. However, in certaininstallations it may be desirable to use a lightweight panel and also toreplace the strips 16 with mechanical supports to lessen the sagging ofthe panels.

A desirable innovation in the manufacture of skylights having thefiberglass cloth overlapping the adjacent edges of the panels is theaddition of a thickening agent to the synthetic resin before the resinis applied to the cloth. A few of the many appropriate thickening agentsare chopped fiberglass, diatomaceous earth, and air-borne mica. Theseagents make a thixotropic mixture out of the resin whereby the same doesnot run down between the adjacent edges of the panels and drip onto thefloor or onto the jig holding the panels.

Another feature which is beneficial to the panels is a crinkle finish onone or both surfaces. Such a finish acts as both a reinforcing agent andalso as a diffuser of light. Furthermore, a crinkled exterior surfacehelps to disperse rain falling on the skylight.

In attaching the skylight to a prepared mounting on a building the wirescreen between the panel and the stud may be replaced by a thickfiberglass mat like that employed as a sound deadener in an automobile,a saran simulated chicken wire screen, cork, and felt. All of thesefunction as sound deadeners or sound insulators.

In certain instances it is desirable to employ a skylight having smallpanels. Such panels may comprise a cured resin free of a reinforcingmember such as a fiberglass cloth or mat, e.g., the panel comprisesessentially a sheet of cured resin. Naturally in the making of theskylight the edges of the adjacent panels are continuously bonded by aresin to form a unitary structure. As previously taught in the fore partof this application, these panels are tough, can be flexed withoutbreaking, and can resist an impact force such as a thrown stone withoutshattering.

With reference to the skylight 31 and the manufacture of the same frompreformed sheets and strips of polymerized resins it is to be realizedthat resins other than expoxy and modified expoxy resins can be utilizedfor bonding together the sheets and strips. Exemplary of these otherresins are polyester and acrylic resins.

Turning now to another modification of the skylight the same can be soconstructed that flashing between the skylight and the roof is integralwith the body-of the skylight. To be more explicit the flashing can bebonded by a synthetic resin to the underside of the skylight so thatsaid flashing sets flush against the studs. In this manner the flashingcan be nailed to the studs and then mopped over with synthetic resin orhot tar to make a waterproof seal. This flashing can be of preformedsynthetic resin sheets, fiberglass panels, or other suitable material.In certain instances it may be desirable not to bond the flashing to theskylight with a resin but instead to nail both the flashing and thesklylight to the studs and then to seal the flashing to the skylight.

The advantages of the invention, it is thought, will have been clearlyunderstood from the foregoing detailed de- 7 scription of theillustrated preferred embodiments. Minor changes will suggest themselvesand may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention, Wherefore it is my intention that the hereto annexed claimsbe given a scope fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation towhich the employed language admits.

What I claim is:

1. A pyramidal skylight comprising a multiplicity of preformed syntheticresin panels joined together side edge to side edge into the pyramidalform by reinforcing strips, each such strip extending lengthwise over apair of adjacent panel sideedges and laterally overlapping onto thepanels joined thereby in conformity with the surface ofeach panel,whereby the panels are joined and strengthened by said strips, each faceof the pyramidal skylight being formed from a multiplicity of panelsdisposed in shingle-like relation, wherein the bottom edge of one paneloverlaps the top' edge of the next lower panel, the overlapping panelportions being bonded together.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the reinforcing strips joining theside edges of all but the uppermost panels longitudinally extend onlyfrom the bottom side edges of the panels to the point of overlap of thenext higher panels, whereby the top of each reinforcing strip forms aseat for the next higher panels.

.References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS311,245 Henn Jan. 27, 1885 697,220 Staples Apr. 8, 1902 752.869 SmithFeb. 23, 1904 878,211 Leppla Feb. 4, 1908 995,594 Hageman June 20, 19112,230,393 Thomson Feb. 4, 1941 2,354,485 Slaughter July 25, 19442,388,297 Slaughter Nov. 6, 1945 2,478,121 Morner Aug. 2, 1949 2,546,430Cook Mar. 27, 1951 2,557,660 Jacobs June 19, 1951 2,688,580 FingerhutSept. 7, 1954 2,693,156 Wasserman Nov. 2, 1954 2,710,335 Wong June 7,1955 2,726,222 Palmquist et a1. Dec. 6, 1955 2,746,891 Doane May 22,1956 2,794,293 Milrod et al. June 4, 1957 2,842,073 Huston et a1. July8, 1958 2,870,793 Bailey Jan. 27, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES ArchitecturalForum, October 1947, pp. 121-124.

Bulletin No. 59 Plexiglas Design and Fabrication

